Heinz College Ph.D. Program

PhD students at Heinz College research many different topics. Learn more about the program from current PhD student, Matthew Eisenberg, who is focusing on health economics.

Heinz College's Ph.D. program distinguishes itself from others because of its interdisciplinary nature and emphasis on solving business and policy problems.

Heinz College's Ph.D. program distinguishes itself from others because of its interdisciplinary nature and emphasis on solving business and policy problems. Our Ph.D. faculty members have expertise in a wide range of fields, including economics, information systems, social networks, Machine learning, behavioral sciences, operations research, and computer science. Integrating disciplinary perspectives, advancing theoretical models, and improving the quality of methodological and computer-based tools in understanding these issues are the primary goals of research conducted by faculty and students in our program.

Our Ph.D. program distinguishes itself by emphasizing the following:

Collaborative Work: Create strong mentoring relationships with acclaimed faculty who closely supervise research projects, allowing you to identify and structure feasible and interesting research questions.

Hands-On Research Training: Students in our program start working on original research in their very first year. You will complete and write up two research projects before beginning your dissertation. Students often present their research at academic conferences (both national and international) and publish their research findings in scholarly journals, often with Heinz faculty.

Interdisciplinary Analysis: Learn the value of using theory and methodologies provided by economics, psychology, sociology, statistics, operations research and organizational behavior to analyze problems.

Empirical Methods: Development of a sophisticated set of methodological skills. Empirical analysis is a foundation for advancing understanding and creating intellectual progress.

Applied Research: Develop ability to conduct path-breaking and relevant research. Prior to graduating, you also have the opportunity to publish papers in professional journals either individually or jointly with Heinz College faculty mentors and present your findings at research conferences.

Heinz College offers two main doctoral titles:

The Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management equips students to address the increasing complexity of public policy issues in key areas like crime policy, drug policy, health economics, labor economics, and technology policy.

The Ph.D. in Information Systems and Management prepares students with a firm understanding of the technical and organizational aspects of information systems, and trains them in analytical and empirical skills to contribute to basic, scientific knowledge.

We also have joint Ph.D. programs with other units at CMU and elsewhere, including CMU’s Tepper School of Business; CMU’s School of Computer Science; CMU’s Department of Statistics; CMU’s Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Technological Change program; and the Ph.D. in Technological Change and Entrepreneurship with a consortium of universities in Lisbon, Portugal.

We have had outstanding career outcomes at academic institutions like Cornell University, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University, as well as at other prominent non-academic organizations, including the Federal Reserve Bank, National Academy of Sciences and the RAND Corporation and private firms like Google, Booz Allen, and so on. Visit the placement page for more information.

Among the Best in the Nation

The National Research Council (NRC) recently ranked the Ph.D. program at Heinz College among the United States' top five public policy, public affairs and public administration doctoral programs.Read more about the NRC study >>